Overedge sewing machine



Aug. 11, 1942.

F. A. KUCERA I OVEREDGE SEWING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 20. 1959 BY W ATTORNEYS.

Aug 11, 1942.

F. A. KUCERA 2,292,762 I OVEREDGE SEWING MACHINE Filed Feb. 20, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J9 FIG. 11

WITNESSES: v j flif eel a an 4 u Q/x/w) INVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS.

1942- F. A. KUCERA OVEREDGEL SEWING MACHINE.

' s Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 20, 1939 Flam- I INVENTOR:

franir fiifucera, BY W W ATTORNEYS.

WI TNESSES:

Patented Aug. 11, 1942 OVEREDGE SEWING MACHINE Frank A. Kucera, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Union Special Machine Company, Chicago, Ill'., a corporation of Illinois Application February 20, 1939, Serial No. 257,412

8 Claims.

This invention relates to overedge sewing machines of the type ordinarily known as cup feed machines which are extensively employed to seam full fashioned stockings and the like. In sewing machines of the kind referred to, a pair of cooperating feed members in the form of tangentially opposing wheels or cups advance the double fabric edges to a stitching needle, while the level of the fabric edges with respect to that of the needle is determined by a guide having means incorporated therewith for eliminating the natural curl in the fabric edges before they enter between said wheels. With certain types of stockings, particularly full fashioned stockings integrally produced throughout with foot and leg in direct continuation on one knitting machine, the outer or selvage edges of the blanks are united by a continuous seam on the sewing machine.

With cup feed sewing machines as heretofore constructed, the uncurler guide is set in a fixed position relative to the needle, the setting being dependent upon the thickness of the heavier reinforced portions of the stockings, i. e., the toe, the sole and the heel, with the result that in the thinner leg portion, a great deal more material than is necessary is gathered into the seam whereby the latter is rendered correspondingl bulky and unsightly.

My invention has for its chief aim to overcome this drawback, which objective I attain in practice, as hereinafter more fully disclosed, through provision of a simple and inexpensive means whereby the uncurler guide may be raised and lowered at will while the machine is running at full speed, to regulate the seam in accordance with thickness variations in different portions of the fabric being operated upon.

Other objects and attendant advantages of my invention will appear from the following detailed description of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. I is a fragmentary view in front elevation of a cup feed overedge sewing machine conveniently embodying the present improvements, with portions broken out to expose important structural details which would otherwise be hidden.

Fig. II is an end elevation of the uncurler guide as it appears when viewed from the left of Fig. I.

Fig. III is an end elevation of the uncurler guide as it appears when viewed from the right of Fig. I.

Figs. IV and V are fragmentary views of the machine with the uncurler guide differently positioned for the seaming of the reinforced and unreinforced portions respectively of a stocking.

Ill

Fig. VI is a perspective view of the adjustable pivot support for the uncurler guide.

Figs. VII and VIII are perspective views of the mounting for the uncurler guide support, ShOW-' ing the same viewed respectively from the front and the back; and

Fig. IX is a stop member associated with the guide support.

The overedge sewing machine herein partly illustrated is generally of the construction disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,043,711 granted to C. F. Rubel and Anton Wyleta on June 9, 1936, having a horizontal needle I, which is reciprocated endwise in a horizontal plane substantially through the point of tangency between two opposed feed wheels 2- and 3 suspended by their shafts 4 and 5 from the overhanging arm 6 of the machine frame. By suitable mechanism, not shown, the wheels 2 and 3 are intermittently rotated contrariwise to advance the work which is to be seamed toward the needle I in a well known manner. In Figs. IV and V I have exemplified the work as an integrally knitted stocking hav ing its toe T, its foot bottom B, its heel H and its high heel H thickened or reinforced by interknitting of a splicing thread with a body yarn after the manner ordinarily practiced in hosiery manufacture.

Except as hereinafter particularly pointed out,

the uncurler guide of the machine generally designated by the reference character 1, is of the construction disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,131,007 granted to Hans I-Iacklander on September 20, 1938. Briefly described, the uncurler guide 1 includes an arm 8 which is secured to one end of a sleeve 9 journaled in a bearing member l0 so as to be swingable toward and away from the feed wheels 2 and 3. As shown the arm 8 has a thin end portion or tongue II in the plane of tangency of the wheels 2 and 3, between the opposite sides of which tongue and clamp members I2 and I3 respectively, the two selvage edges of the stocking are engaged. The clamp members l2 and [3 are pivotally connected at M and I5 to lugs at opposite sides of the arm 8, and are subject to a spring IS in compression between their finger grasp projections i1 and I8. The front edges of the clamp members 12 and I3 are concaved and beveled as at I9 to engage within the curls C at the fabric edges and thereby flatten them out in a way well understood in the art before they reach the reentrant bight of the feed. Wheels 2 and 3. Secured crosswise of the tongue ll adjacent the bottom end with its ends passing through clearance aper tures in the clamp members l2 and I3, is a pin 20 which provides a guide shoulder for the edges of the two fabric layers after said edges have been flattened out, to determine the level of said edges relative to the plane of the needle I, and, in turn, the width of material which will be incorporated in the seam formed by the machine. Afiixed to the sleeve 9 at the end opposite to that occupied by the arm 8, is a notched locking disc 2i which is abutted by a cam disc 22 at the corresponding end of a shaft 23 passing freely through said sleeve 9. To the other end of the shaft 23 is secured a manipulating finger lever 25. By means of this finger lever 25, the uncurler guide 1 may be selectively swung to different angular positions in which it is temporarily held by a spring-pressed pivoted pawl 26 adapted to be displaced by the cam disc 22 and to engage the notches in the locking disc 2!, as and for the reasons explained in Patent No. 2,131,007 hereinbefore referred to.

In order to adapt a sewing machine such as above described to the purposes of my invention, provisions have been made as follows: Integrally formed with the fulcrum bearing ill for the uncurler guide 1 is an upwardly extending dovetail shank 2'! which is slidingly engaged in a vertical groove 28 in a bracket member 25 at the front side of the overhanging frame arm of the machine. As best illustrated in Fig. VII, one side of the groove 28 is formed by a gib 3| capable of slight lateral adjustment on the bracket member and fixable in adjusted positions by a pair of screws 32 to insure a snug working fit of the bearing shank 21 in said groove. From Fig. VIII, it will be observed that the bracket member 29 has a horizontal tongue projection 33 which fits a groove 35 (Fig. I) in an offset pad 35 at the front side of the frame arm 6, and moreover that it is fastened by a headed screw 31 whereof the shank passes through an opening 33 in said member and engages into the machine frame. Fulcrumed to rock about a shouldered screw 39 threaded into a tapped hole 49 in an ear 4| on the bracket member 29, is a double armed horizontal lever 42 whereof the end of the short arm is notched as at 43 to engage a stud 44 projecting laterally from the shank 2'! of said member, and whereof the long arm is connected, by means of a chain 45, to a knee-press or foottreadle (not shown) for convenience of manual operation. To the top of the bracket member 29 is affixed, by a pair of screws 45, a block 4! whereof the forward end is undercut to provide a stop tongue 48 which is clevised as at 49. Threadedly engaged at its bottom end in a tapped hole 50 in the top of the shank 21 of the bearing member l9 and extending up from the latter through the clevis 49 of the stop tongue 48, is a screw stud 5! with a circumferentially notched collar 52 which is adapted to engage the bottom side of said stop tongue as presently explained. A ball detent 53 urged outwardly of a socket 54 in the block 41 against the notched edge of the collar 52 serves to prevent accidental rotative displacement of the screw 5| in adjusted "positions. At its upper end, the screw 5| carries a nut 55 having a knurled head 55 for convenience of manipulation by the fingers, and a beveled dial 5! at the bottom with circumferential graduations for coordination with an indexing mark 58 on the top of the block 41, see Fig. IX. The finger nut 55 is fixable in adjusted positions by a set screw 59 which is threaded into the top of its threaded bore and which bears against the upper end of the screw 5|. A compression spring 60 with its upper end engaged in a socket 6| in the bottom of the bracket member 29 presses downwardly on the top of the bearing member [0 (see Fig. II) with the result that the finger nut 55 is normally maintained in contact with the top of the stop tongue 48 of the block 41. As a consequence a lowered position is determined for the uncurler guide 1 with the ECIOSSWlSB fabric edge guiding pin 20 on its tongue H at a definite level normally above the plane of the needle I and the feed wheels 2 and 3. However, movement of the lever 42 by a downward pull on the chain will be attended by lifting of the uncurler guide 1 against the resistance of the spring until the collar 52 on the screw 5| contacts with the lower side of the stop tongue 48, with the result that the fabric edge guiding pin 20 on the tongue II is raised to a slightly higher level relative to the plane of the needle I and the feed wheels 2 and 3. Through adjustment of the screw 51 in the bearing member [0, and adjusting the nut on said screw, it is possible not only to vary the normal position of the uncurler guide 1, and to increase or decrease its permissible vertical movements to meet different requirements of practice, but to shift the limits of such movement relative to the plane of the needle or the line of stitching.

In the use of the machine to seam stockings, the seaming is begun at the toe and continued along the sole B, the heel II, the high heel H and the leg L in one operation, the beveled edges IQ of the clamps l2 and I3 of the uncurler l functioning in the usual way to remove the curls C along the edges of the superposed fabric layers so that said edges are fiat as they pass together into the entrant bight between the two feed wheels 2 and 3 which intermittently progress the material in the direction of the arrows shown in Figs, IV and V for penetration by the needle I During the seaming of the foot portion of the stocking, the uncurler guide I is moved by means of the lever 42 to the raised position in which it is shown in Fig. IV. When the top of the heel H is reached, the lever 42 is released to permit the spring to depress the uncurler guide I to its normal lowered .position in which it is allowed to remain for completion of the seam along the stocking leg. Now since the guide pin 20 of the uncurler determines the level of the fabric edge relative to the needle I, it will be apparent that with the uncurler raised as in Fig. IV, more material will be incorporated in the portion of the seam which joins the stocking foot edges than when it is lowered as in Fig. V in seaming the portion which unites the leg edges. Thus, through my invention, it is possible to regulate the seam and thereby compensate for thickness variations in the material. Accordingly, unnecessary bulk and corresponding unsightliness in the portion of the seam at the back of the stocking leg is precluded.

It is, of course, to be understood that the seaming of hosiery is to be considered merely as an example of other uses of which my improved overedge sewing machine is capable.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a sewing machine, stitching mechanism including a needle for penetrating the material substantially at right angles; a pair of opposing feed members for progressing an edge of the material which is to be stitched relative to the needle; an edge guide for the material; means whereby said guide can be shifted laterally of the plane of the needle and the feed members during the sewing to vary the width of the seam; stops for limiting the movement of the guide; and yielding means for normally holding the guide in one of its two extreme positions.

2. In a sewing machine, stitching mechanism including a needle for penetrating the material substantially at right angles; a pair of opposing feed members for progressing an edge of the material which is to be stitched relative to the needle; an edge guide for the material; means whereby said guide can be shifted laterally of the plane of the needle and the feed members during the sewing to vary the width of the seam; and stops for limiting the movement of the guide, said stops being adjustable so that the range of movement of the guide may be varied, or the limits of such range may be changed relative to the line of stitching.

3. In a sewing machine, stitching mechanism including a needle for penetrating the material substantially at right angles; a pair of opposing feed members for progressing an edge of the material which is to be stitched relative to the needle; an edge guide for the material; a slide to which the guide is connected, a support for the slide; means whereby the slide can be shifted on the support during the sewing to move the guide for varying the width of the seam; and. stops engaging a fixed member on the support for limiting the movement of the guide, said stops being adjustable so that the range of movement imparted to the guide may be varied, or the limits of such range shifted relative to the line of stitching.

4. In an overedge sewing machine for seaming stockings and the like, stitching mechanism including a needle for penetrating the doubled edges of the stocking fabric substantially at right angles; feed mechanism including a pair of opposing feed members for progressing the fabric edges relative to the needle; an uncurler guide with a central tongue, uncurler fingers between which and the opposite sides of the tongue, the respective edges of the fabric are passed, and a fabric edge guide shoulder extending crosswise of said tongue; a movable support for the uncurler guide and means operatively connected to the support for shifting the uncurler guide laterally of the plane of the needle and the feed members during the sewing to vary the width of the seam.

5. In an overedge sewing machine for seaming stockings and the like, stitching mechanism including a needle for penetrating the double edges of the stocking fabric substantially at right an gles; feed mechanism including a pair of opposing feed members for progressing the fabric edges relative to the needle; an uncurler guide with a central tongue, uncurler fingers between which and the opposite sides of the tongue, the respective fabric edges are passed, and a fabric edge guide shoulder extending crosswise of said tongue; a movable support for the uncurler guide and a treadle operatively connected to the mov able support for shifting the uncurler guide laterally of the plane of the feed members and the needle during the sewing to vary the width of the .seam.

6. In an overedge sewing machine for seaming stockings and the like, stitching mechanism including a needle for penetrating doubled edges of the stocking fabric substantially at right angles; feed mechanism including a pair of opposing feed members for progressing the fabric edges relative to the needle; an uncurler guide with a central tongue, uncurler fingers between which and the opposite sides of the tongue, the respective fabric edges are passed, and a fabric edge guide shoulder extending crosswise of said tongue; a sliding support for the uncurler guide; and a manual lever operatively connected to the support for shifting the uncurler guide laterally of the plane of the needle and the feed members during the sewing to vary the width of the seam.

'7. In a sewing machine, stitching mechanism including a needle for penetrating the material which is to be stitched substantially at right angles; a pair of opposed feed members for progressing the material relative to the needle; an edge guide for the material; means whereby said guide can be shifted laterally of the plane'of the needle and the feed members during the sewing to vary the width of the seam; adjustable stops for limiting permissible shifting movement of the edge guide; and means for yieldingly holding the guide normally in one of its two extreme positions.

8. In an overedge sewing machine for seaming stockings and the like, stitching mechanism including a needle for penetrating the doubled edges of the stocking fabric substantially at right angles; feed mechanism including a pair of opposing feed members for progressing the fabric edges relative to the needle; an uncurler guide with a central tongue, uncurler fingers between which and the opposite sides of the tongue, the respective fabric edges are passed, and a fabric edge guide shoulder extending crosswise of said tongue; means whereby the uncurler guide can be shifted laterally of the plane of the needle and the feed members while the machine is in operation to regulate the width of the seam, including a sliding support for the uncurler guide and means for shifting the guide; and means for limiting the permissible shifting of the guide including a fixed stop projection; a screw threadedly engaged in the sliding support and extending through an opening in the stop, a collar on the screw to cooperate with one side of the stop and an adjustable nut on the outer end of the screw to cooperate with the other side of the stop.

FRANK A. KUCERA. 

